Need some Meatless Monday inspiration? This Buffalo Chickpea Quesadilla recipe has you covered, with boldly flavored and beautifully textured smashed buffalo chickpeas and irresistibly gooey melted cheese.
Jump to:
This is one outstanding meatless quesadilla recipe. And it’s so easy to make, I promise! Chickpeas and Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Wing sauce are the key ingredients to making a superb Meatless Monday meal that you can have ready in 30 minutes.
Chickpeas in a quesadilla? If you’re initially skeptical of a chickpea quesadilla, let me resolve all doubt as your concerns probably revolve around 1) shape and 2) flavor.
The real beauty of chickpeas is their versatility when it comes to texture. A quick buzz in the food processor takes care of a chickpea’s “problematic” shape for quesadilla usage. The texture is somewhat meaty for lack of a better adjective; it has substance and toothsomeness, all qualities that make it a fantastic quesadilla ingredient.
Chickpeas don’t have much flavor, do they? The humble garbanzo bean is pretty blah on its lonesome, but that’s perfectly all right! Chickpeas are a blank slate upon which flavor can be written. Get some Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Wing sauce involved along with onion and garlic and you’ve got a flavorful quesadilla filling on your hands.
Ready to explore more amazing ways to enjoy chickpeas? These crispy air fryer chickpeas make a tasty snack and this creamy buffalo hummus makes a great party appetizer.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Go Meatless. It's easier to try to incorporate more meatless meals when you've got one that tastes as good as this!
- So Quick. Just 8 simple ingredients and less than 30 minutes is all it takes to make this tasty meatless meal.
- Budget Friendly. Canned chickpeas make an inexpensive meal - plus I find that chickpeas give meatless meals substance.
Ingredients
This recipe makes two large quesadillas.
- Canned chickpeas - Reach for a can and strain them before using.
- Aromatics - Yellow onion, finely diced, and garlic, finely minced, lend additional flavor. You could also use green onion instead of yellow onion, your choice if you want to cook it or not. You could also leave out the onion and garlic if you're not a fan or want to streamline this recipe.
- Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Wing sauce - Classic! You could also make your own homemade version, but I like to reach for Frank's.
- Flour tortillas - Get the large burrito-sized ones for these quesadillas.
- Cheeses - Reach for classic cheddar and fabulous-melting mozzarella cheeses here. Both go well with the flavor of buffalo sauce. Monterey Jack would also be great, as would a few crumbles of blue cheese.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below - keep scrolling!
How to Make a Buffalo Chickpea Quesadilla - Directions
- Step 1: Mash the chickpeas. Pulse the strained and rinsed can of chickpeas in your food processor. Just pulse three to four times until the chickpeas are broken down a bit. Be careful not to overdo it; you want to preserve some texture, not make hummus. You could also smash the chickpeas with a fork.
- Step 2: Make the filling. Cook the onion in melted butter over medium heat for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook for 45 seconds, stirring the whole time. Add the smashed chickpeas and 3 tablespoons Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Wing sauce.
- Step 3: Get ready to fill. Cook the chickpea mixture for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally until heated through. Toss the shredded mozzarella and cheddar cheeses together to combine them.
- Step 4: Assemble the quesadillas. Lay a tortilla on a cutting board and sprinkle half with a ½ cup of shredded cheese. Top with half of the buffalo chickpea mixture and then sprinkle with another ½ cup of shredded cheese. Fold the naked half of the tortilla over the top of the side with fillings. Repeat with the second tortilla.
- Step 5: Cook. Heat a large pan or griddle to medium heat. Spritz the surface with cooking spray, add quesadillas, and cook for 5-7 minutes on each side, or until crisp and toasty looking. You may need to cook one at a time, depending on the size of your cooking surface. Remove from heat and cut into four slices. Serve with ranch dressing or blue cheese dressing.
Love quesadillas? Then you will definitely want to try these ground turkey quesadillas, grilled chicken quesadillas, or chorizo quesadillas.
Food Snob Alert! Grate ‘yo cheese!
I frequently get shit for this, but I always buy cheese in blocks and grate it myself. I don’t care if this makes me a snob, I love it. Pre-shredded cheese is coated in cellulose to prevent it from clumping.
Nothing wrong with it health-wise (that I’m aware of) but when I want cheese, I want CHEESE, not cheese and cellulose, and other miscellaneous additives. And it melts like trash. Ever had nachos made with pre-shredded cheese? Yuck. Grate ‘yo cheese!
Top Tips for the BEST Buffalo Chickpea Quesadilla
Tip 1. Drain the chickpeas well – Draining off the excess canned liquid prevents the chickpea quesadilla filling from becoming too wet; we do not want to risk making the quesadilla soggy.
Tip 2. Don’t overdo the sauce – Avoid adding more buffalo sauce than the recipe calls for; it can make the filling runny and prevent the quesadilla from crisping properly while cooking
Tip 3. Serve with a great dip – Ranch and blue cheese dressing are the obvious choices, but you might be surprise by an avocado crema.
Serving Suggestions
I highly recommend serving this vegetarian-friendly recipe with Ranch dressing or blue cheese dressing for dipping, it's fantastic. I also like to snack on celery while I'm eating this quesadilla, just feels right. And it's especially great when paired with a fresh batch of Watermelon Water.
If you love condiments, give these easy homemade ones a try! Try pairing them with this Buffalo Chickpea Quesadilla.
- Quesadilla Sauce - a simple sauce that pairs perfectly with quesadillas.
- Roasted Garlic Chimichurri - a fresh and herbaceous dipping sauce.
- Roasted Garlic Guacamole - a unique take on traditional guacamole.
- Spicy Pico de Gallo - fiery and irresistibly fresh.
- Citrus Jalapeno Salsa - fresh, acidic, punctuated with pleasant hits of heat.
Recipe FAQs
They sure are! The chickpeas keep this buffalo sauced quesadilla a vegetarian-friendly dish. The cheese, however, means it is not vegan-friendly, but you could try using a vegan cheese instead. Note: I have not tested a vegan-friendly variation of this recipe.
While this recipe calls for plain white tortillas, you could also use whole wheat, spinach, or a low-carb option. The key here is that it's a large tortilla for quesadilla-making purposes, and that you enjoy its taste.
More Quick Dinner Recipes
If you tried this buffalo chickpea quesadilla recipe (or any other recipe on Midwexican), please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it turned out in the 📝 comments below!
Buffalo Chickpea Quesadilla (Vegetarian-Friendly)
Ingredients
- 1 15.5 ounce can of chickpeas
- ½ small yellow onion, finely diced
- 1 tablespoon butter or olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, finely diced
- 3 tablespoon Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Wing sauce
- 2 large flour tortillas
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- cooking spray
Instructions
- Strain and rinse the chickpeas, then add to a food processor. Pulse three to four times until the chickpeas are broken down a bit. Be careful not to overdo it; you want to preserve a bit of texture, not make hummus. You could also smash the chickpeas up a bit with a fork.
- Melt butter (or heat olive oil) in a pan over medium heat. Once melted, add the onion and cook for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook for 45 seconds, stirring the whole time.
- Add the smashed chickpeas and 3 tablespoons Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Wing sauce. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally until heated through.
- Remove pan from heat and set aside.
- Toss the shredded mozzarella and cheddar cheeses together to combine them.
- Lay a tortilla on a cutting board and sprinkle half with ½ cup shredded cheese. Top with half of the buffalo chickpea mixture. Finish by sprinkling with another ½ cup shredded cheese.
- Fold the naked half of the tortilla over the top of the side with fillings. Repeat the step above with the second quesadilla.
- Heat a large pan or griddle to medium heat. When warmed up, spritz the surface with cooking spray. Add quesadillas and cook for 5-7 minutes on each side, or until crisp and toasty looking (you may need to cook one at a time, depending on the size of your cooking surface).
- Remove from heat and cut into four slices. Serve with ranch dressing or blue cheese dressing.
Leave a Reply